Nebulizer or the like



Jan. 15, 1952 'w G P TRUMBOUR ETAL 2,582,805

NEBULIZER 0R THE LIKE Filed sept. 1i, 1947 Fi' Fg. 1 F/r'w'l. 3a 7 Y l 7l ae 81 as a9 8 8 8 638 las eq /5 18. 19 8 I9 A9 J y 3l eo l. 3/9, /2 a6 I y a7 9 6 ,a la l Q i C 7 90 /7 t so lo S I6 /6 \:`al l //l'lll'lll Vsilllllllllzihv Will 2 Q -Inveaaoa Geofgelflmaaoza; 175242235 Macwqgoa Ih' 1 l s y nays Patented Jan. 15, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE4NEBUIMIZER 0R THE LIKE George P. Trumbonr and Forbes MacGregor,

Needham, Mass., yassignors to. MacGregor Instrument ICompany, Needham,Mass., a corpo- 'ration 0f Massachusetts Application September 11, 1947,Serial No. 773,330

2 Claims. 1

Our present invention Vrelates to nebulizers or like devices for use inatomiz'ng various liquids.

Certain uses of various liquids require that they be atomized. Forexample, atomized lacquers are used in hair dressing while, on the otherhand, it is frequently desired to use a nebulizer to dispense perfumesor medications which may be costly or which maybe intended for use onlyin small volume.

In accordance with our invention, We provide a nebulizer consisting of ahollow, Open-ended body having a supporting base. `Within the body is anatomizing unit disposed to discharge atomized liquid through a port withwhich 'the upper part or head of the body is formed. The lopen end ofthe body is preferably closed by 'a rotatable cap having a port closingskirt which is provided. with one and preferably atleast two aperturesof different size. Each aperture is .registrable with the outlet port sothat the cap may be turned into one position in which the nebuliz'er issealed, into another position where the larger aperture is in registrywith the outlet port, 'as when a lacquer is to be dispensed. "and nto athird position where the smaller 'aperture registers with l Y suctiontube that is removably supported 'in "the body by centering means andan'air `deliverytube seated in the wall of the .head portion ofthe bodywith its delivery end operatively ,positioned relative tothe suctiontubeto enableliguid tobewit'hdrawn therethrough Vand discharged, inatomized form, through the outlet port. The delivery end ofthe air ltubeprevents the suction tube from being removed from the 'body until the'air tube is unseated and to ensure 'the ydesired relationshipbetweenthe tub-es,the air'deliverytube preferably has a seatedengagement lwith 'the dsuction tube'thereby to cooperate in its-support.1n addition to the simplicity fof construction which such an atomiz'ingunit represents, it `'also has the advantage that it enablesnebulizersto be readily assembled or taken apart as when they vare 'to bethoroughly cleansed.

We `prefer that the ibase 'and the body be separate 'and that theyandthe cap be molded from plastic of the same or .diiierent colors. Whenthe parts are to be molded, the base may be 'hollow and of frusto-conicsection. Interiorly oi its rim., the base may have a downwardly andinwardly tapered seat. With such a base, the lower portion of the bodyvis downwardly and .inwardly tapered so that a substantial part oi" itis entrant of the base when seated therein, with said lower portionconstituting a well for the liquid to be atomized.

The body may advantageously be 'formed with a skirt, spaced therefrom toestablish a recess `for the rim of the base and outwardly and downwardlytapered to engage the outer surface oi the base in the zone of its 'seat'when the body and the base are united. The cap 'has a recess to receivethe rim ofthe body 'andthe inner wall o'f the recess is extended toprovide the apertured, port blocking skirt.

In the accompanying drawings, we have shown illustrative embodiments ofAour invention from which these and other of its novel features andadvantages will be readily apparent.

In'the drawings:

Fig. l is 'a vertical section through a nebulizer inaccordan'ce withourinvention.

, Fig. 2 is a lsection .along the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1, and l Fig. 3 is aview similar to Fig. 1 but showing-a modification of 'our invention.

The embodiments `of our invention dshown "in the drawings 'are adaptedto be molded from any suitable plastic and each-comprises a hollow base5 of frusto-conic section, a hollow open-ended body, generally indicatedlat 6, a cap 'i to rotatably seat on the rim S of the *body '6., andVanatomizing lunit consisting of lan air delivery tube 9 and a suctiontube li.

The base 5 has a downwardly Aand inwardly tapering seat il interiorly'of `its rim "12. The interior of the bodyl vpreferably tapers uniformlydownwardly Land inwardly from `its 'rim 8 substantially to its bottom,where it is tapered as-at ll 3 lto establish -a krelatively shallowliquid collect ingpocket centrally oi which 'we `provide the 'bod-y 6with an upstanding and slotted centering lring l 4. The 'hollow body "Eincludes wan Iupper or vhead portion i5 and a lower portion H5 which isexteriorly tapered so that'a 4substantial'part of it "is entrant of 'thebase 5 when lit fis in V'engagement with 'the Aseat "II. When the 'bodyB :thuis lsup' 3 ported, its lower portion I6 constitutes a well for theliquid to be atomized and its shallow liquid collecting pocket enablessmall quantities of relatively expensive medications or perfumes to beatomized.

Preferably, the outer surface of the head portion I5 tapers slightlyoutwardly and downwardly from its rim 8 and the body 6 has a skirt I1spaced from the upper part of the well IS to establish a recess toreceive the rim I2 and outwardly and downwardly ilared to engage theouter surface of the base 5 in the Zone of the seat II when the body andthe base are united. The head portion i5 has a strengthening rib I8extending upwardly from the skirt I'I through which extends a port.'preferably slightly tapered so that the air Vdelivery tube 9 may betightly seated therein with its delivery end disposed in alinement withthe outlet port I9.

The air delivery tube 9 is adapted to be connected to any conventionalbulb, not shown, and has a passage 2B therethrough of reduced diameteradjacent its delivery end. The suction tube Ill has an axial passage 2|which is upwardly and inwardly tapered so that its bottom end mayreceive within it the centering ring I4 thereby to detachably mount thesuction tube I in the body 9. The suction tube I0 may have an inlet port22 adjacent its lower end to effect communication between the well I6and its axial passage 2|.

In the embodiment of our invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, we have shownthe upper end of the suction tube I0 as beveled with its lower edgedisposed towards the outlet port I9 and its upper edge having a verticalslot 23. The bottom of the slot 23 intersects the axial passage 2| ofthe suction tube I0 and its rear part is enlarged as at 24 to establisha seat for the delivery end ofthe air delivery tube 9 so that the tubes9 and I may be detachably interlocked to prevent the suction tube Iiifrom becoming accidentally unseated from the centering ring I4 and tomaintain the parts of the thus established atomizing unit in operativerelation to each other.

By this construction, the atomizing unit may be removed from the body 6when one of our nebulizers is to be cleansed. 'By unseating the airdelivery tube 9 and withdrawing it, the upper end of the suction tubemay be manually engaged and lifted through the open end oi the body 6.

To facilitate such manual removal, we may form the suction tube assuggested in Fig. 3. The suction tube 25 of Fig. 3 is substantiallylonger than the suction tube IEI so that its upper end is nearer the rim8 of the body 6 thereby to be more conveniently accessible. The suctiontube 25 has a ilared port 28 disposed towards the outlet port I9 and incommunication with the seat 21 for the delivery end of the air tube 9.

While the atomizing units may be otherwise formed, we` prefer theconstruction shown in the drawings as it has the advantage of simplicityof manufacture and ease of assembly and disassembly.

The open end of the body 6 is shown as closed by the cap 'i which has anannular groove to tightly receive the body rim 8 while permitting thecap 'i to be turned. The rim receiving recess is dened by the annularflanges '28 and 29 which snugly engage the outer and inner surfaces,respectively, of the head portion I adjacent the rim 8. The flange 29terminates just above the air delivery tube 9 and includes a skirtatsaeos 30 having diierent sized apertures 3| and 32, registrable withthe outlet port I9 as the cap is turned. The skirt B may conveniently beof suflicient arcuate length so that when the cap 'l is turned to bringits edge 33 into contact with the delivery tube 9, the outlet port I9 isblocked and the nebulizer is effectively sealed. When the cap 'I isturned in the other direction to bring its edge 34 into contact with thedelivery tube 9, the smaller aperture 32 registers with the outlet portI9. When the cap 'I is turned into an intermediate position, the largerport 3I registers with the outlet port I9 so thatthe volume oi atomizedliquid delivered may be varied.

` AFrom the foregoing, it will be apparent that nebulizers in accordancewith our invention may be economically manufactured and combineattractive appearance with adaptability for many uses. While ournebulizers may be made from any material, We prefer that they be moldedas their parts, when made of a suitable plastic, are interchangeable andwell adapted to withstand hard usage.

What we therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A nebulizer comprising a hollow, openended body with its closed endconstituting a well provided with a centrally located projecting seatand having a pair of ports, air delivering means including an airdelivery tube rictionally iitting one of said ports with its extremityin said body and disposed towards the other of said ports, and a tube insaid body having a suction passage tapering from its bottom end and atsaid bottom end being dimensioned to receive said seat and including aportion extending beyond the upper end of said passage to be accessiblefor digital engagement through the open end oi' said body, said portionhaving a passageway into which said air delivery tube extremity isfrictionally tted thereby to lock said suction tube to said body withits lower end anchored in said well and with its upper end and saidextremity operatively associated with each other, said suction tubebeing removable through the open end of said body when said air deliverytube is unseated from said portion.

2. A nebulizer comprising a hollow, openended body with its closed enddownwardly and inwardly inclined and having a pair of ports, airdelivering means including an air delivery tube frictionally tting oneof said ports with its extremity in said body and disposed towards theother of said ports, a tube in said body having a. suction passage andincluding a portion extending beyond the upper end of said passage to beaccessible for digital engagement through the open end of said body,said portion having a passageway into which said air delivery tubeextremity is frictionally fitted thereby to Alock said suction tube tosaid body with the lower end of its passage in said well and with itsupper end and said extremity operatively associated with each other, andmeans centrally of the bottom of said well engageable with said suctiontube to support it, said downwardly and inwardly inclined bottom beingavailable to guide the lower tube end into engagement with said meanssaid suction tube being removable through the open end of said body whensaid air delivery tube is unseated from said portion.

GEORGE P. TRUMBOUR. I FORBES MACGREGOR.

' (References o'n'followin'g page) REFERENCES CITED Number1 Name DateHoell Sept. 16, 1890 Holmes Jan. 22, 1895 Robertson Mar. 4, 1902 Saileet a1. June 11, 1918 Blanchard Jan. 5, 1932 Schmitt Nov. 15, 1932Wettstein Jan. 22, 1935 Number Number Name Date Massa, Feb. 2, 1937Schutte Sept. 27, 1938 Maltner Jan. 10, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS CountryDate Great Britain Dec. 5, 1912 Switzerland June 15, 1938 France May 25,1925 France Jan. 6, 1939

